


Magnetic Moment

by loftyperch



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: First Time, Historical Inaccuracy, I did no research, M/M, Romance, Slash, child endangerment, probably, sort of a 1944!Superfamily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-02 03:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1051798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loftyperch/pseuds/loftyperch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When their squad captures a very unusual Hydra base, Steve and Howard liberate its only prisoner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magnetic Moment

**Author's Note:**

> So I was watching X-Men: First Class the other day, and in between my Cherik feels, I was like 'hmmmmmmm ... Poland ... 1944 ... that seems significant for some reason ..."
> 
> The next day, when the Cherik feels had worn off, I knew I just _had_ to put something on paper. Started as a flashback in a different fic, but just kept getting bigger ... and bigger ... and suddenly I found myself with the start of a multi-chap war drama on my hands.
> 
> This likely will never be a top priority, but I'm having fun with it for now :3
> 
> The German is entirely Babelfish's doing.

Poland, 1944

"I don't like this, Steve," warned Howard as he toed trough the debris of a very short skirmish. 

He followed Steve from one room to the next in the sprawling administrative complex they'd uncovered and taken with no substantive resistance, no shots fired. 

"They had no guns, this building has no nails or hinges, it's not wired for electricity, the officers escaped on goddamn _horses_ , no one's wearing badges or helmets or buckles. The guards we captured are raving about monsters for Christ's sake. What _is_ this place?"

Steve led with his sidearm and shield around a corridor. The entire building had already been cleared, but he shared his friend's misgivings. And despite Howard's running commentary on the weirdness of this admittedly weird base, Steve was glad to have him there, glad to have his bright eyes and easy smile as they searched in the weak, afternoon sunlight.

"Intel said -" 

"I know what Intel said, but we haven't seen hide nor hair of either Schmidt. I've got the sinking feeling that we're being led into some kind of trap."

"You can go back if you want."

Howard grinned and ran to catch up.

"I never said I was scared."

Steve came to a sudden halt halfway down the hall, Howard bouncing off of him in his haste.

"What is it?" the scientist whispered, not so brave anymore, unconsciously clinging to Steve's jacket.

"It's my-WHOAH!" the supersoldier hit the floor hard with a clang, yanked down by his shield. 

"Get back!" he ordered, and Howard obeyed instantly.

Steve holstered his gun and pulled on the shield with both hands, but it wouldn't budge. He grunted and growled with the effort until Howard slapped a hand over his mouth and stilled him.

"Shhhh ..."

The men held their breath, crouching, heads together as they tried to make out the faint noise that had caught Howard's attention.

"Hier!" a small voice cried from under the floor. "Ich bin hier!!"

"Wir horen Sie!" Howard shouted back. "Wir kommen!"

The shield moved freely now as Steve smashed it down edgewise on the raw pine, splinters flying left and right, Howard pacing and anxious as he radioed in their discovery. They fell to their knees to rip up the boards, finding a thick pane of glass just beneath, a small boy staring up at them through it.

Steve raised the shield again, but Howard put a hand out to stop him.

"There could be hundreds of pounds of glass here, you could kill him." He leaned down and cupped his hands against the barrier. "Wie kommen wir da rein?"

"HIER!!" The boy screamed, tears streaming down his face. He made a desperate downward gestured, and in answer Steve's shield ripped itself out of his hands and smashed straight through the glass, slivers exploding outward in a glittering flash.

Steve snatched Howard's belt just in time to keep him from plunging downward onto the daggerlike shards that showered the lower floor.

"Bist du verletzt?" He called down when Steve had pulled him back onto solid ground.

"Nein" answered a small voice.

"Lower me down."

Steve did as he was told, shaking as he gripped Howard's hands and sent him into the dim, dangerous space.

He watched from above as Howard peered into a corner and reached for the boy, boots crunching across the glass.

"Wie heißen Sie?"

"Erik," the boy sniffed.

Howard pulled the shield from another corner and slung it on his back, coaxing Erik out with kind words and brushing bits of glass from his thick, dark hair. He lifted the boy high enough for Steve to take his hands and haul him out.

Steve took a moment to look Erik over, only reaching into the hole when he was satisfied the child had little more than superficial cuts.

Howard was a small guy, but the angle was awkward, and their hands were both sweaty. 

Just as Steve was about to give up and find a rope, Erik took a deep breath and concentrated, and the shield tugged at Howard's shoulders, giving him just enough oomph to come tumbling out onto the floorboards and into Steve's arms.

Steve was surprised to find he was shaking. It wasn't like their task had been so strenuous ... It was just a little frightening to have sent a non-combatant to what could have easily been his death, to have found such a small prisoner, hidden so thoroughly ... to have seen and felt his shield move with a mind of its own.

At least Howard was shaking too, so he needn't be embarrassed.

They each opened an arm, and Erik ran to them, burying his bloody, tearstreaked face between them.

"Danke," he sobbed, clutching their waists. "Danke."

"Du bist jetzt sicher," Howard whispered.

\-------------------  
To be continued …  
\-------------------

 _Hier! Ich bin hier!!_ = Here! I'm here!!

 _Wir horen Sie! Wir kommen!_ = We hear you! We're coming!

 _Wie kommen wir da rein?_ = Where do we get in?

 _Bist du verletzt?_ = Are you hurt?

 _Wie heißen Sie?_ = What's your name?

 _Danke_ = Thank you

 _Du bist jetzt sicher._ = You're safe now.


End file.
